Broh Week Prompts
by True Colours
Summary: Bolin and Iroh comfort, protect, charm and are devoted to each other, amid a mixture of rumours and obliviousness.
1. Comfort

**Broh Week, Day One – 'Comfort'**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Avatar or the characters therein.

**A/N: Comfort? What kind of a prompt is **_**comfort**_**? It's blatantly a shipping prompt! Prompts should be ambiguous, they should make you think, they shouldn't just be an incitement to fluff!**

**Oh, whatever. How about I shut up complaining?**

**I know this is two days late, but I only heard about 'Broh Week' – or Biroh Week, as I prefer to think of it – until yesterday evening. And TBH, with everything that's going on today it's lucky I had time to write at all. But I did. And here it is. Takes place during some imaginary final battle moment (I can't even remember what happened in the finale OTL) when Iroh injures himself. Knock yourselves out, O readers of mine!**

'Breathe deeply and relax,' Bolin says. 'All the pro-bending medics say tensing up makes pain hurt worse.'

Iroh breathes. His shoulder is definitely dislocated and his forearm is probably sprained but possibly fractured and hurting like hell either way. The Earth-bender Bolin is holding him still while his brother Mako moves his arm, trying his best to put things back together.

'That's it,' Bolin says. 'Lean on me if you need to.'

_It's just a little pain,_ Iroh's brain says. _Pull yourself together and sit up straight_.

_Oh, whatever_, his body answers, slumping into Bolin's arms.

'Right, I'm going to relocate this shoulder now,' Mako says. 'This will hurt a bit, okay?'

'Take a deep breath in and then blow it out as he pushes,' Bolin advises. 'It'll help you relax.'

'Right,' Iroh grunts.

'Ready?' Mako says. 'One – two – three –'

Iroh's trainers have always told him that a soldier must not scream on any account, but that if one couldn't keep silent it is acceptable to say, 'ow.'

'Ow,' he says now. 'Ow, ow, _ow, ow, OW!_'

'_There_,' Mako grunts with a final shove. 'All right? Have a breather. Well done. Bolin, hold him still while I straighten this arm.'

Bolin grasps Iroh tightly round the chest, avoiding his just-relocated shoulder, while Majo tugs his arm out straight. Maybe it's just his mind playing tricks on him, but Iroh _imagines_ he can feel ends of bone scraping together and it's horrible.

'Keep breathing,' Bolin says. 'You're doing great!'

'Thank you – ow!'

'That's straight, more or less,' Mako says. He folds Iroh's arm carefully across his chest and holds the wrist in place. 'Now Bo'll bend a cast for you…'

He takes over the job of supporting Iroh's shoulders while Bolin moves into an earth-bending stance. He draws on the stone and earth around them, forming them into a thin, hard casing that fits snugly to Iroh's arm and holds it in place. It's a precise bit of bending; Iroh's impressed. With the small part of his mind that isn't thinking, _ow_.

Mako finishes the makeshift setting off with a sling made from his overshirt, and then the two brothers help Iroh to his feet. Bolin keeps up a constant flow of encouragement all the time.

'Does it hurt much? Take deep breaths. Lean on me if you need to. Hang in there, you're doing fine.'

'No. Yes, I remember. Don't worry, that won't be necessary. Thank you, I feel right as rain,' Iroh answers, but Bolin carries on talking and holding him up without seeming to notice or mind what Iroh thinks of the help. Iroh finds he doesn't mind. It's quite comforting.


	2. Protection

**Broh Week, Day Two – 'Protection'**

**A/N: In which Iroh realises how hard it can be to protect people.**

'So let me get this straight,' Iroh said. 'You and your brother made a living earning _protection_ money?'

'Yeah,' Bolin said defensively. 'So what?'

'Nothing; I'm just surprised that two excellent people like yourself and your brother would ally yourselves with common thugs. I've had some tough times stamping out protection rackets in Caldera.'

'Hey!' Bolin exclaimed. 'Mako and I were always fair. If someone paid their protection money, our group saw to it that they got protected! It isn't all cheating and intimidation out there, you know.'

'That's beside the point,' Iroh said impatiently. 'I'm sure your group were fair enough, but in an unregulated, amateur group, how do you make sure? Who polices them to make sure they're doing their job? Who makes sure that the "protectors" are actually capable of protecting without danger to themselves and others? Who actually decides what "fair" means, if there's no official body to monitor their work? It would be much better if people would run their affairs without resorting to using these groups at all.'

'And how are they supposed to do that?' Bolin demanded, flaring up for real.

'By making use of the official police forces of the city!'

'Look, the official forces aren't always fair either! Look at Councillor Tarrloc; he was willing to start chucking innocent non-benders in prison. Chief Bei Fong wasn't too gentle with Korra when she first arrived in town! And have you forgotten that it was the Fire Nation _state_ that started the Hundred-Year War in the first place?'

Iroh stood up. 'You're telling me your experience, but I'm telling you mine! These protection rackets are a breeding ground for criminal enterprises that make life more difficult for everyone. I admit the police forces aren't perfect, but you don't make them better by taking power away from them and putting it in the hands of gangs!' He shook his head. 'I'm disappointed, Bolin. I thought you and your brother were better than that.

The crash of Bolin's fist on the table made every piece of crockery jump into the air. It was easy to forget exactly how much muscle was hidden under his good-natured slouch.

'Look, we weren't running protection money to make some damned _political statement_!' he shouted. 'We were doing it to earn a crust! We had to get by!' He glared at Iroh, but he was blinking hard at the same time. 'Who the hell was protecting _us_, huh?'

'_I'm _protecting you,' Iroh whispered a long time later, when he had realised exactly how stupid he had been, overcome his mortification and succeeded in finding Bolin among the twisting alleys of Air Temple Island. 'I swear I'm going to protect every single person in the Republic. It's what I've always wanted to do.' His mouth twisted ruefully. 'I just didn't realise protecting people was going to be so complicated.'

Bolin gave him a punch on the shoulder to show no hard feelings, and tipped Pabu into his lap. The two of them sat on the ridge of the island, watching Yue go down.


	3. Devotion

**Broh Week, Day Three – 'Devotion'**

**A/N: This may be somewhat incoherent due to the fact that GypsyxBells and my brother Thomas are playing Brawl next to me and my dad is in the room and the scene implies that smut happened, which is always hard. I should probably edit it, and stuff…yeah, about that…**

'I wasn't expecting you to be so inexperienced,' Bolin said candidly.

'Yes, well,' Iroh said, too contented and too used to Bolin's way of talking to be terribly embarrassed, 'when one is only allowed to consort with certain state-approved people and everything in the bedroom is furnished exactly as one likes it so that there's no excuse to not be in the mood and everybody has high expectations of one because one is a prince and one has a thousand and one other things to be doing anyway…I suppose it's fair to say that I never really got into it.'

'Hmph, fair enough,' Bolin said. His thick eyebrows quirked and Iroh felt a sudden, irrational rush of love for him. He curled closer to Bolin in the narrow bed, and Bolin wrapped an arm around him and pulled the sheet up over his shoulders. No palace concubine would have bothered to do _that_.

'I wasn't expecting you to be so experienced,' Iroh said.

'Well, when no-one cares who you consort with and you're used to roughing it and nobody expects anything of you and there's nothing better to do…' Bolin said with a sort of lying-down shrug. Iroh chuckled. 'Plus, you know, I _am_ a Fire Ferret.'

'Of course. Best pro-bending team in Republic City.'

'A lot of girls like Mako, you know, but they're too scared to talk to him so they come chat to me instead. I'm told I'm easy to talk to. They like to tell me their problems.'

'Wow. What kind of problems do girls have?'

'Mostly that they're frightened to talk to boys they like,' Bolin said, laughing. 'But, you know, often they find they like me after all.' He grinned modestly. 'Or maybe I'm just a substitute, I don't know.'

'I – not to me – Mako, I never even…' Iroh said, floundering. That statement was so quietly tragic that it seemed to require some response, but he had a suspicion that he was just digging himself into a verbal hole.

'What I'm trying to say,' he said slowly and clearly, looking into Bolin's green eyes. 'Is that, for me…you're not…' He blinked. 'What were we talking about again?'

'Your absolute devotion to me and only me,' Bolin beamed, pulling him into a bear-hug. It wasn't the kind of hug you could wriggle out of.

Iroh had had his share of physical encounters, but he had no experience when it came to devotion.

**A/N: I edited a teensy bit! Be proud of me!**


	4. Rumours

**Broh Week, Day Four - Rumours**

'Step right up, step right up, and marvel as Master Pabu attempts – the Crossing of Death!' Bolin shouted. In these latter days performing in the streets for money wasn't really necessary, but it was a wise sage who said that old habits die hard.

'Wow, that's so amazing!'

Bolin blinked in surprise as a teenage girl actually detached herself from the crowd and came over to look more closely. Pabu _was_ amazing, of course, but that didn't stop most people from just strolling on by.

'Why, thank you, miss!' he squeaked, holding Pabu up to his mouth and waving one of his paws. Pabu wriggled out of his hands immediately and jumped onto his head. The girl giggled. She was pretty, in a soft, brown-eyes-and-curls kind of way, and she was watching him and Pabu with wide-eyed hopefulness.

'You trained him to do all that yourself?' she asked.

'Well, you could say that,' Bolin said. 'Most of it's natural talent, though.'

'I see. And…' The girl's voice dropped to a half-whisper. 'That's not all he can do, is it?'

'Why, no! Master Pabu is a fire ferret of many talents!'

'You see…' The girl sat down cross-legged opposite him, and began to twist a lock of hair around her finger, blushing prettily. 'I know it sounds silly, but I heard a rumour that he's also…' She leaned forward and breathed, '_a love-ferret._'

'Uhm, well…' Bolin frowned and scratched his head, somewhat taken aback. 'That's not something I have personally witnessed, but it could well be, could well be. Pabu?' He put his chin on the pavement so that he and the ferret were nose to nose. '_Are _you a love ferret? Do you have secret skills?'

'It was just something my friends were saying,' the girl hastened to explain, 'because your brother Mako seemed to get so lucky with the girls, first Asami Sato and now Avatar Korra, which I guess means she's been lucky in love too, and now you've found someone as well…so people are saying that the reason all you Fire Ferrets have fallen in love is because Pabu is a love ferret.'

'It's the only logical explanation,' Bolin agreed, cupping his chin and frowning seriously at Pabu.

'So yeah, thing is, I have this crush and I was wondering, if you'd maybe let me hold Pabu, it might make me get lucky too?' the girl said, opening her dark eyes very wide.

'Ah, I see! Certainly, young lady; Master Pabu will be happy to assist you.'

He draped Pabu like a furry stole around the girl's shoulders.

'He's so _sweet_,' she said, stroking his russet head. 'Oooh, I feel more romantic already! Thank you so much!'

'Any time, any time!' Bolin beamed. 'Thank you kindly,' he added, as she dropped a coin into his tin mug. 'Goodbye, and good luck winning that crush! Be brave! Be yourself! May Pabu the Love-Ferret's blessing go with you!'

He kept waving and smiling until she had gone round the corner, then stuffed Pabu into one breast of his jacket and his collecting mug into the other, leapt to his feet and sprinted into the eatery behind him, where Team Avatar were enjoying a well-earned noodle break.

He dragged Iroh out of his seat by the jacket lapels and exclaimed to him,

'Oh my spirits, people know!'

'Know what?' Iroh asked, sucking a stray noodle into his mouth and looking perplexed.

'About _Us_!' Bolin shouted, waving his arms about.

'What? How, did you tell?'

'No, did you?'

'No!' Iroh said. Both men's heads turned simultaneously to their friends at the table.

'Don't look at me, I said nothing,' Korra said.

'Why would we _want_ to talk about it?' Mako asked.

'I don't know,' Iroh said. He gently removed Bolin's hands from his lapels. 'I…didn't realise that people finding out would be such a disaster for you.'

'Oh, I don't mind personally,' Bolin said. 'But you haven't told, I haven't told…don't you think that it's a bit…' He stuck his face up close to Iroh's and opened his eyes wide. '_Spooky?_'

One corner of Iroh's mouth quirked up in a wry grin. 'Apparently rumour travels fast in Republic City.'


	5. Charming

**Broh Week, Day Five – 'Charming'**

'Right,' chief Bei Fong snapped. 'You and your so-called "Team Avatar" are very lucky to have been invited to the Officers' Ball, Bolin, and this time you are going to behave yourself. I don't want all the dignitaries to think that I can only run this city with the help of a set of ill-bred, loutish vigilantes. Charming vigilantes, maybe. So, _be charming_.' She gave Bolin her signature nose-to-nose glare. 'Keep your hands out of your pockets. Stand up straight. Don't pick your nose when you're being spoken to. Don't put your ferret on people. General Iroh – ' She turned to where Iroh was standing, remembering just in time to switch to her "superior officers" voice. ' – please back me up.'

'Well, all your advice is perfectly sound,' Iroh said, 'but I find him altogether charming already.'

When Lin turned back to Bolin, he was preening ridiculously and doing his version of a seductive smile – basically a huge goofy grin with some eyebrow waggling on top.

'Oh, by the spirits!' Lin shouted, throwing up her hands. 'I give up! You two should never have been allowed to meet. You _make each other worse!_'

She stalked out of the room.

'I already promised her I wouldn't slurp my noodles or do any of those other things,' Bolin said anxiously. 'Do I really make you worse?'

Iroh kissed him. It felt like sinking down onto soft pillows after a long, hard day.

'Definitely,' he said, keeping him close with a hand on the back of his neck. 'I would never have spoken with such levity in front of a fellow officer before I met you.'

'Oh,' Bolin said. 'Sorry about that.'

Iroh kissed his eyebrow as it quirked upwards.

'I fear I am becoming less charming under your influence,' he sighed.

'But I'm charming enough for both of us!' Bolin said. 'And anyway, shut up. Of course you're charming!'


	6. Oblivious

**Broh Week, Day Six – 'Oblivious'**

Dinner was drawing to an end on Air Temple Island.

'Alright, General Iroh and Captain Asama – she would make a great captain, okay – operation "Redirect Suspicion" – activate!'

'I've never been more impressed by any technology than that of Future Industries,' Iroh said at once, leaning towards Asami. 'And I hear that you've inherited some of your father's talents in that area…?'

'Oh, I'm no inventor,' Asami said, laughing, 'but between you and me, I can outrace most of my father's drivers on the test-track – on a good day, that is.'

'Well, that's impressive! Don't repeat this to anyone, Asami, but there's a reason I made ships and not cars my area of expertise. Some of these new vehicles go so fast that it makes my head spin just to think about it.'

Asami giggled. 'Oh, it's not that hard really,' she said. 'I mean, sure, it looks flashy, but it's not like being in charge of one of those great big powerful ships with the sea churning around you and hundreds of lives at stake and the whole Republic counting on you…'

'Well, when you put it that way…' Iroh said, rubbing the back of his neck shyly. 'Maybe I could learn.'

'I'd be happy to teach you.'

'Would you, really? I'd just _love_ that.'

'Of course…' Asami said. So far nobody had shown any signs of interrupting their conversation. Asami looked at Tenzin, and then at Bolin, who made "keep going" gestures with both hands.

'I could come to your room after supper and, you know, give you a few pointers…' Asami said, putting on a warm smile and trying not to let her true feelings show through. 'Just so you have some idea of what you're doing before you get physical…you have a room to yourself here, don't you, so it's not like we'd be disturbing anyone –'

'Actually, that reminds me, we need to discuss sleeping arrangements!' Tenzin interrupted suddenly, his voice sounding unusually terse. 'We've had to make some reshuffles because of the baby, and actually, General, I'm terribly sorry but we won't be able to offer you a room to yourself this time…'

'Oh no!' Iroh said, his lip twitching almost imperceptibly.

'I know it's less than ideal,' Tenzin said, 'but I'm going to have to ask you to share with…' He ground to a halt.

'I don't mind sharing with him,' Bolin volunteered, waving a hand vaguely around in the air.

'Excellent!' Tenzin said, latching onto the proffered lifebelt. 'Miss Sato, you'll be sharing with Korra; Pema and I thought that would be fun for you girls.'

'Oh, it will!' Korra said, beaming.

'So, er, Mako, I hope you don't mind sleeping with the baby's cradle. He's sleeping through most nights now.'

Mako tormented the others with an extra-long pause before saying, 'that's alright. Somebody has to.'

'Well, that's settled then,' Tenzin said, getting up. 'General Iroh, I'm sure you will want to turn in early, be well-rested and so forth. Sleep well, Mako. Miss Sato, I'm sure Korra will make you feel at home and that you'll be up gossiping all night…'

With that, he hurried off down the corridor.

The others separated, Mako slouching off to the baby's room after giving Bolin a very significant eye-roll, and Bolin and Iroh and Korra and Asami going into their shared bedrooms. Pema followed them down the hall, smiling gently.

'Goodnight, Korra, Asami,' she said. 'Goodnight, Bolin. Goodnight, General. Sleep well!'

Bolin and Iroh smiled politely, closed the bedroom door and collapsed into giggles.

'I feel that one maybe shouldn't laugh at a bending Master,' Bolin said, pulling himself together for a few seconds, 'but _did you see his face_?'

Iroh stumbled to the bed and sat down hard, shaking with laughter. He couldn't remember having behaved like this for at least five years, if not more.

'Was the conversation alright?' he asked. 'I felt that it was a bit –'

'Are you kidding?' Bolin interrupted. 'It was hilarious!'

Iroh smiled.

'Remind me to thank Asami,' Bolin said. 'And now that I've got you here…'

He held out both hands. Iroh took them and allowed Bolin to pull him to his feet and straight into his arms. Bolin kissed him, and he went weak at the knees in a way that he hoped no-one in the United Navy would see, ever. He had a reputation for sturdiness to keep up.

A few minutes later, lying in the warm bed with Bolin doing things to him that were neither respectable nor innocent, he was quite glad of the ruse they had played at dinner. He was proud of Bolin and proud of their feelings, but there were some things that Tenzin was just better off being oblivious about.

**A/N: Come on, guys, I have 401 views and out of all of them only one person, who happens to be my sister, has bothered to review. That makes 400 very lazy people out there!**


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